Critical Contrast: EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) & Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX)

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) and Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares EPAM Systems and Wix.com”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EPAM Systems	$5.46 billion	0.75	$377.68 million	$6.97	11.29
Wix.com	$1.99 billion	1.25	$50.65 million	($0.78)	-54.62

EPAM Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Wix.com. Wix.com is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EPAM Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

EPAM Systems has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wix.com has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.6% of EPAM Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.5% of Wix.com shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of EPAM Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Wix.com shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares EPAM Systems and Wix.com’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EPAM Systems	6.96%	14.71%	11.14%
Wix.com	-1.97%	-33.28%	2.84%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for EPAM Systems and Wix.com, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EPAM Systems	2	7	7	0	2.31
Wix.com	2	8	11	1	2.50

EPAM Systems presently has a consensus price target of $148.21, indicating a potential upside of 88.33%. Wix.com has a consensus price target of $96.75, indicating a potential upside of 127.11%. Given Wix.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Wix.com is more favorable than EPAM Systems.

Summary

EPAM Systems beats Wix.com on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc. provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services. It also provides operation solutions comprising integrated engineering practices and smart automation services. In addition, the company offers business, experience, technology, data, and technical advisory consulting services; and digital and service design solutions, which comprise strategy, design, creative, and program management services, as well as physical product development, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality. The company serves the financial services, travel and consumer, software and hi-tech, business information and media, life sciences and healthcare, and other industries EPAM Systems, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

About Wix.com

Wix.com Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cloud-based web development platform for registered users and creators worldwide. The company offers Wix Editor, a drag-and-drop visual development and website editing environment platform; and Wix ADI that enables users to have the freedom of customization that the classic editor offers. It also provides Wix Logo Maker that generates a logo, including through the use of artificial intelligence; Wix Answers to support users; and Payments by Wix, a payment platform, which helps its users receive payments from their customers through their Wix Website. In addition, the company offers various vertical-specific applications that business owners use to operate various aspects of their business online. Further, it provides a range of complementary services, including Wix App Market, a marketplace that offers its registered users various free and paid web applications for building, growing, and managing their businesses; Wix marketplace that brings users seeking help in creating and managing a website together with Web experts; and Wix owner App, a native mobile application, which enables users to manage their Websites and Wix operating systems. The company was formerly known as Wixpress Ltd. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.